Students often struggle with knowing how to begin an essay. They are told to
"engage the reader," but that advice can be vague if students don't
have ideas about how to do that. They also may try to write the introduction
before it is ready to be written (before they truly know what it is they wish
to say in the piece). The following suggestions may be helpful as students struggle
to bring the reader into the writing.
Students can put
so much pressure on themselves to start the writing "just right"
that they block good ideas. They can find their way "into" the writing
by starting with whatever feels like the easiest part to write and then come
back to the beginning later when their ideas may be fresher.
Sometimes the
beginning of a piece of writing literally can't be written well until
the writer knows what else he or she is going to say. When this kind of discovery
writing is going on, students can be encouraged to write an intentionally dry,
boring beginning just to have a way of getting the essay started. They can then
write the rest of the essay and come back to figure out what is the best way
to bring the reader into the essay.
Clouse (2001) suggests
that students answer the question "Just why should your readers take time
to read your essay?" to help them think of the reason that the topic might
matter to them.
Writers commonly begin pieces with a relevant
quotation to add focus and interest to the beginning of a piece. Often the quotation
is introduced within the context of the first sentence.
Clouse
(2001) suggests that when the direct approach is best, students may wish to
start by stating the main thesis of the piece and the points that will be discussed.
Either though actual anecdotes or a
hypothetical situation, a student can generate interest by telling a brief,
relevant story to get the piece started. He or she needs to then focus attention
on how to make the transition from the narrative to the topic at hand so that
the movement doesn't feel inappropriately abrupt.
Depending on the topic, students may find
that the use of a strong descriptive passage at the beginning of the piece serves
as an interesting and powerful introduction to the topic.
Clouse (2001) suggests that computers can
be helpful when writing introductions in two ways: (1) students can use the
command that divides the screen in half to compare two possible introductions
or (2) use the cut and paste feature to move the conclusion to the space for
the introduction and see if it can be tweaked to be an effective opening.
Students can try consciously using two or three different techniques for writing
an introduction (such as use of a quotation, use of narrative, or use of sensory
detail) and then compare them to select the most effective.
Example
In Biology, students experiment with using sensory details in describing
plants at the beginning of an opinion piece to be submitted to the school newspaper.
The piece urges students to join an effort to preserve plants near the school
that are about to be destroyed by new construction.
Example
In Parenting and Child Development, students use personal anecdotes to begin
short essays on effective parenting techniques which will be used to show their
understanding of course content and may be shared outside the class with an
appropriate audience.
<< Back | Table of Contents
| Next >>
